People are often shocked when I tell them that my family saves $3372 per year for Christmas:

“That is a pretty extravagant Christmas”
“We don’t spend nearly that much, wow, that is a lot of money”

This is true, $3372 is a whole bunch of money, but in reality, it is not as shocking an amount of money to save for Christmas as you think, once you understand WHAT is included in that total.

The REAL Cost of Christmas

When I talk with people about saving for Christmas, and Christmas spending, what I have found is that people are only thinking about the cost of the presents they will be purchasing for Christmas.

“Last year we spent $600 on presents, so we are saving money for that this year”

Then, after Christmas and New Years are over, these same people are confused and upset when they have far less money in their accounts than they expected.

“But, we only spent $600 on presents”

The problem is, Christmas spending includes so many things beyond the presents you buy for people, and it is all of these other costs that quickly add up and drain your bank accounts, and increase your credit card bills, far quicker than you imagined.

My family’s Christmas savings are $3372 because we include the true total cost of Christmas in our spending plan. We include:[Read more…]

The holidays can be an expensive time of year; usually, more expensive than we realize until it is too late. You have the best intentions of keeping things under control this year, and by January you are shocked by the size of your December credit card bill.

The good news is: spending during the holidays can be kept under control by being patient, discovering what is truly important to you this holiday season, and by taking the time to think about what you are purchasing and why.

To help you with your spending this holiday season I have gathered together some of the articles I have written about spending and how to control it. Pick the article or articles that sound the most helpful for you this holiday and look forward to facing a smaller credit card bill this January.

(All of these posts can also help spending outside of the holiday season, so bookmark this page so you can reference it later in 2017)

1. This One Word is Costing You (a lot) of Money

This is one of the most popular posts I have written, and perfect to share on this list. This article is all about the word “ONLY” and the effect “ONLY” has on how you spend your money.

2. Money Lessons from a 7-Year Old: In App Purchases

I am a proud Dad, so here is an article I c0-wrote with my son based on his experience and learning from making an expensive in-app purchase for the iPad. If you have kids (or big kids) making big demands this holiday season sharing the three tips in this article can help with prioritizing your spending.

3. Using Positive Emotions to Save Money this Christmas

This article shares a free action guide and video teaching you how to use a positive emotions statement to help control your spending this Christmas. Overspending happens when you focus on the things you are buying and not on the positive emotions and experiences you want to generate with your purchases.

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Whatever it is called Sunday, and Cyber Monday are now part of history for 2015.

My family managed to mostly stick to our spending plan for Black Friday. Other than an unplanned pair of softshell pants we stayed on track and returned from Black Friday in Spokane with exactly what we wanted and needed.

Did you stick to your spending plan? Did you get derailed and overspend?

If you stuck to your spending plan – great! – now remember to stick to your spending plan for the approaching holidays. It can be super easy to stick to your plan for Black Friday, then have an overspending explosion as you get ready for Christmas.

If you ended up overspending this Black Friday – don’t let it have a huge impact on you – don’t let feelings of guilt (why did I buy so much) or panic (how am I going to pay for all of this stuff) take over. You still have time to get on track and follow a Spending Plan for Christmas and the New Year.

The key to building a solid money foundation is to build on your successes and learn from your mistakes (not beat yourself up about them).

Whichever of the above categories you fall into it is time to move past Black Friday and look towards Christmas and New Years, and how you can control your spending during one of the most expensive times of the year.

Four Steps for using Positive Emotions to Control Your Spending this Christmas